Snickery
by Zman135
Summary: Set in the far future of current Panem; Katnis, Peeta, everyone is long gone and their attempts to overthrow the government failed, but there was a need to change the laws in order to prevent another overthrow, so things have changed. Story is awesome!
1. Chapter 1

_(AN: Sorry I haven't done anything in forever, I've been EXTREMELY busy. But I've wanted to do a fic on the Hunger Games for a while so I've finally done it. This story is actually a dream I had a little while back. Hope you enjoy!)_

I rolled over, still half asleep. It felt as if I had fell into a freezer. Slowly I began to open my eyes and take in the heavy light that was being generated through my window.

_ Another sunny day in the life of a sector sixteen citizen, _I thought. _Why do I never awake to claps of thunder, or the pattering of rain?_ But I knew the answer, the government would never allow it. They wanted things to be at the highest level of perfection possible, just so we could see how miserable and lowly our lives truly were.

I lazily sat up in my "bed", a lousy bag filled with leaves and twigs. I looked away from the window to my old fashioned alarm clock. 7:24 it read, I still had another six minutes until my "recommended" awakening time. So I was forced to stay in bed for the remaining time. I hid my face under my blanket and sighed. I hated not being able to get up when I wanted.

_You could just get up. _A rebellious voice sang in my head.

I poked my head out from my warm haven and looked to the barren, concrete floor. I looked closer and spotted out the nearly microscopic sensors imbedded there.

One step out of bed before the recommended time and the control force would break into my room, demanding an explanation before I could punch my self for carrying out such a stupid act.

_ Of coarse, if I have a death wish,_ I scoffed.

My eyes followed the floor until they reached the wall opposite of the window. The sun glistened off of the dangling medals; one with a green ribbon saying third place regional football team, another, but with a blue ribbon, held the words first place district language arts student, etc. Most were blue ribbons and a few green scattered about, but no red. I despised red.

The way our classes in school were categorized was by; Intellectual classes (blue), Athletic classes (green) and Political classes (red). In our Primary years we are observed to see what career clusters we will fall into, and determine our interests. In middle school we are educated about our determined clusters. Then in High school we have three classes a semester, one in each of the categories. I was in my second year of High school, and had made an admirable amount of intellectual awards. It was one of the only things I cared about, proving I wasn't just another citizen going along with the government's wishes. I wanted to prove it was possible to show the government up by success. Not to mention the medals were also the only things allowed in our rooms other than a bed and clock.

I heard the high pitched, screechy noise I had been dreading. I swung my arm over and hit the off button. Okay. _I have twenty minutes to shower, get my uniform on, and then ten more to get to school in time for the nation's daily update._

I quickly jumped out of bed and scuttled past my medals into the shower. It was a fast shower, but was effective in waking me up. I then turned the water off and began to dry my self. I pushed a button beside of the shower and a rack of black, white, and gray uniforms slid out of the wall.

_At least I have some freedom,_ I thought sarcastically, while picking off a white outfit and tossing it on my body.

I then rushed down the stairs, seeing I had four minutes left and snagged a Kiji fruit as I ran out the door. I jogged at a brisk pace down my street's sidewalk, taking large bites out of the sweet, and tangy fruit. I passed a few straggling people that paid me no attention. In no time I had reached a huge, dome like building called school. I slowed my pace at the stairs so I could throw my fruit's core away over the stairs' rail into an endless, dark hole on the ground. Who knew where it went.

I walked through the glass doors into the school lobby. Everyone was staring up at the massive screen in the ceiling. It had 02:08 pictured, clicking down showing that in two minutes and eight seconds everyone not yet in the school would be tardy. I had never been tardy but I did know you got five lashes for every day you missed when you returned if it was not excused, so I could only imagine the punishment. The clock finally reached zero and an overly enthusiastic woman appeared on the screen from behind a large desk.

"Good morning, what a beautiful day it is to live in Snickery", she chirped. "As you all know, the Hunger Games drawings are coming up tomorrow, so be ready to fight if called upon for Snickery rose out of a dieing world that was in the middle of a great war, were no one knew who could be trusted. The day Panem once again united, 5 districts remaining of the 12, it was decided that every country of the world would unite to form Snickery. We now use the Hunger Games to decide who is worthy of being leader of all that is and all that will ever be.

President Aubrey is preparing for his departure remembering his game and how exhilarating it was. He says he leaves with no regrets and can't wait to meet all the sectors' representatives. In other news-"

I blocked the rest out because I was still infuriated by the woman's repetition of the presidents words. How "exhilarating" the Hunger Games was for President Aubrey? How dare he make a comment about the event as if it were some play thing?!? The very thought that anyone could act in such a way as he did put me on the edge of vomiting, but I kept the bile out of my mouth.

The screen finally went black and I began the long walk to my Monarchy class.

_Tell me what you think!_


	2. Chapter 2

I walked into the class room and sighed, _Another boring day with Mr. O'Brian._

I took a quick glance around the room, looking for a familiar face to sit with. I saw Veronica and a rare smile creped onto my face. She looked up from her homework and she met my gaze and smiled back. She motioned for me to sit by her so I began walking over to her.

Veronica was the closest friend I had. I met her in preschool, we both spent most of our time in the music section of the class room, so we became friends very quickly. She also shared my views on the set up of our government.

"Ello, ow are ew today Mr. Callen?" she said in a foreign accent, probably sector 31.

" Ello, Miss. Veronica. I am very gud, thank ew."

We both let out a small giggle that made everyone else around us stare in fear. Laughter is always considered disrespectful in public, but me and Veronica decided it would be a good way to show others free will still existed, (even if it was a shallow freedom).

Mr. O'Brian staggered into the room. Me and Veronica shared a worried glance, she gave a swift head shake that said drunk… again. Me and Veronica made our own form of sign language a few years back so we could communicate in situations where speech is limited or restricted.

"Okay", he started "Today we're gonna talk about the first recorded country that had a Monarchy government, England"

Me and Veronica locked eyes. I twirled my hair with a serious expression or in English, he already taught this last week. She gave a nod of agreement.

"Who knows what sectors now exist where England once stood?" he asked cockily, thinking no one would know where it was. I did though. It was sector 31, but he said sectors… I didn't want to answer but no one else was and I didn't want any extra homework for lack of participation. So I raised my hand.

"Mmhm?" He grunted. I got out of my seat to formally state my answer.

"It's sector 31" I spoke.

"What's sector 31?" he asked with a confused look.

"The question you just asked,", I said slowly, "What sector now exists where England once stood."

"Are you mocking me, Mr., umm… uh… what's your name again?" he asked still confused.

I looked over at Veronica. She held up one finger that signaled she would distract him. She raised her hand.

"Yes?" he asked politely.

"What sector exists where England once stood?" she innocently asked. I stealthily slipped back into my seat while his attention was diverted.

"Sector 31... I think" he spoke slowly.

"Oh, okay" Veronica said sounding disappointed.

"I'll check on that" he said soothingly as he walked behind his desk and got a massive book covered in dust. He sat down and began fingering through the ancient book.

I looked at Veronica. She gave a fist pump and twirled her finger with a sarcastic questioning look. She meant, "Are you excited about tomorrow?"

I snickered and gave a thumbs up then lifted my shoulders and did a fist pump my self while shaking my head. It said, "Who wouldn't be excited?"

She lifted her finger to her temple and smiled while slightly tilting her head, or, "I know, right?"

Then I heard it. I whipped my head towards the front of the room, where I met another humungous snore.

_Oh no! Who ever feel asleep is going to regret it. Maybe if I can wake them up befor-_, but relief cut my thoughts short when my eyes fell on Mr. O'Brian fast asleep, head centered into the book's crease. Veronica simply rolled her eyes.

I looked around the room and everyone seemed to be frozen with fear and then turned to panic. They didn't know whether to wake Mr. O'Brian up or let him sleep. Regardless, someone was going to get yelled at when he woke up. One girl began hyperventilating.

I returned my gaze to Veronica. For some reason she was smiling. I gave her a questioning look.

She pointed at me and her, then made a cutting motion with her hands, then balled them into fists and banged them against each other, then she shrugged. What she said was, "We need to break the tension, right?"

If we could break the tension of the class, just for a second, they might realize they always have control over what happens inside their minds. I nodded.

She then pointed to Mr. O'Brian's mind board then pointed to the pull down screen.

I instantly caught on to what she was saying. The mind board is a tool used to show a picture of what an instructor is thinking to increase understanding of a particular person, place or thing. But if we hooked it to him while he was unconscious, we would be able to see his dreams. I was sure a man like O'Brian had some interesting dreams. I was certain two-thirds of the class hadn't laughed in the past four years of mid and secondary schooling, and I was sure all thirty-two knew it was "wrong". If we could get them to laugh in public, our life goals would be completed.

I then pointed at her then O'Brian, followed by pointing at myself then the screen. She nodded, we both stood up and began walking to the front of the classroom. Every eye was on us, expecting us to wake O'Brian up. I snickered, _they would never guess what we're planning._

I was now in front of the screen. When I pulled it down a few people gasped. I looked over to Veronica and saw she had already hocked the board up to his head and was now turning the power on. The screen began to flicker, then what came on screen no one would have ever expected. The girl who was earlier hyperventilating finally passed out.

On screen was O'Brian slowly walking across a rainbow above a beautiful valley filled with flowers, trees, all kinds of woodland creatures, etc. There was only one problem, no one was laughing. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone was just staring in shock. _At least shock is better than fear, _I thought. We had to do something to make them laugh. I ran over to Veronica beside of Mr. O'Brian. I had a plan.

"Just follow my lead." I whispered as quietly as I dared. She nodded then I leaned into O'Brian's ear.

"Fluffy pink bunnies are climbing up the rainbow behind you." I spoke softly but in a solid tone.

And sure enough, about twenty rabid, pink rabbits ran up the rainbow toward a now motionless O'Brian. I looked around and some of the class had broke into smiles. But Veronica's was the biggest of all, then she whispered, "Hurry! You have to skip away from them as fast as you can!"

I returned my gaze to the screen and saw O'Brian moving in a way I had saw no one **ever** move before. I heard a few snickers, but that was more than enough to accomplish our goal.

I looked at Veronica and cried, "We did it!"

"Yes! I always knew we would!" she replied happier than I had ever seen her before.

But before we could celebrate anymore, the control force broke through the classroom door.

_Things are starting to heat up now, lol. Please review!_


	3. Chapter 3

_This one's kinda short but I've had to study for algebra and biology finals while writing, so it's been a difficult task, lol. I'm already done with the first halff of the next chapter, so it'll be up some time tomorrow if I'm not curled into a ball of depression and sorrow over the Algebra final ruining my perfect A+ streak :'(. I hope you enjoy! (And please review, even if someone else has posted what you want to say already. They inspire me sooo much!)_

"Freeze!" a huge man bellowed from the newly created hole. There were around nine control force officers standing behind him, all equipped with riot shields and taser guns.

We knew there would be no point in resisting. So we did what we were already doing... nothing. Me and Veronica looked at each other then put or hands on our heads and got on our knees. The leader of the pack stepped through the hole and threw a pair of handcuffs onto us, handed us over to two other people that proceeded to push us down the hall. I took a look back at the class room to see the leader cuff O'Brian and throw him to another officer. Then set his sights onto the class. He reached into a compartment on his belt and pulled out an unnatural colored orb. I knew what it was instantly, a mind cleanser.

"You will forget everything that's happened in the past twenty-four hours. You will go home and think this was all a dream." he said in a calm, but stern voice.

Every eye was transfixed upon the orb that made their faces glow with a slight purple tint. _Nooooo! _I mentally screamed. All of our work, the only true goal me and Veronica ever pursued full heartedly had been fulfilled in vain.

The head officer put the orb back into his belt and every student got up and left, under the technology's spell.

I felt a sudden volt run from the middle of my spine to the top and bottom, sending me to my knees, only to find a foot brutally contacting with by ribs. Then pulled back onto my feet by the aggressor.

"Keep moving!" the officer that cuffed me screamed before giving me a rough push forward.

The walk to the office was brisk and silent. We walked through a huge, arched door that could only be the principals. Only the principal wasn't inside, but president Aubry was.

Me and Veronica shared a glance of pure terror. What torture did he have prepared for us? Putting a fishing hook into our belly button and pulling out our intestines? Or maybe he would have us whipped to death in front of the whole nation.

"Why are you so afraid?" he asked, grinning an evil smile that could only be described as pure corruption, "I don't bite!" He then looked me and Veronica up and down before turning his head towards an officer.

"Did you erase the minds?" he asked in a professional tone.

"Yes, they've already left for their homes, sir."

"Very good" he replied satisfied before returning his gaze to us.

"What do you think you're punishment should be?" he ordered in a sarcastic tone. Me and Veronica just looked down at the too-clean office floor.

"This is the first time in nearly three hundred years some one has committed a crime serious as this. You know the only reason there is a recommendation against public laughter is so there is never another uprising like when we were the country named Panem. I worked my ass off in the arena to make that recommendation, it is the one recommendation I chose to remain in use next term!" he said in a voice that would make the mightiest mountains crumble.

Each president chooses one "recommendation" to be kept another term after their presidency, such as last terms president George and his recommendation that parents and children past the age of 6 be separated to promote dependence. Unfortunately Veronica's little brother turns six today. He'll be bussed to dorm in a sector that fits his needs and attend elementary school alone. If he were born only one day later his life would have been spared and he would remain in sector 32 living happily with his parents...

I quickly glanced away from the floor to Aubry's face when he had been silent too long.

his eyes shown a hint of light that could only be an idea.

_Oh no! _My brain triggered, _he's finally thought of a suitable punishment. _I looked at Veronica and could tell her brain was going through the same process as mine. The silence made itself evermore present when an officer coughed, almost making my jump for the window, which caught my eye.

As I peered out the window it looked so perfect. There was a valley snugged between two smooth hills, blue and yellow flowers everywhere. I could see the trees dance to the winds soft song. This was the fist time I had comprehended the true beauty of nature. It seemed as if the world were at peace... if only it truly were.

"I have decided your punishment" he said with a sinister smile.

_Here it comes_ I thought closing my eyes in nervous anticipation.

"You will be on probation for the next month. I feel you have learned your lesson in the area of this matter. And I **know** you will never, ever attempt something like this again." I opened my eyes in shock. Is he letting us off the hook? H-how? If you stole something as small as a piece of food you're hand got cut off! How can this slide by?!?

I felt the officers take off my handcuffs from afar, still is disbelief. The president began to walkout, but not before picking up Veronica's hand and kissing it.

He then spoke in a suave voice, "As they say in sector 58, "à toute à l'heure!" Then he was gone. But is words lingered in my mind, à toute à l'heure... it was classic French, but what... then hit me. It was "I will see you very soon." And this gave me the feeling that we would be meeting with Aubry again soon... too soon.


	4. Chapter 4

_(Sorry for the wait! Turns out snow isn't always good, especially when it knocks out power __**:\**__ This one is packed with AWESOMNESS!!! __**:**__P )  
_

_Swoosh! _Another one of Veronica's arrows hit the bulls-eye.

"What do you mean we'll see him soon?" she questioned in a look of pure terror, but still loading her next arrow and pre-aiming the target.

"Á toute à l'heure means I will see you very soon in French so we need avoid any situations that would give him an excuse to get close to us." I said briskly before sending my own arrow into a target, dead center.

"And it does make little to no sense for him to let off like that..." she paused, shooting yet another arrow into the yellow circle,

"Exactly, but I can only imagine what he could do to-", I cut off because my arrow hit the line between yellow and red, "Why do you always do better than me in athletics?" I laughed.

"Why do you always out do me in academics?" she countered, and sent an arrow at the target without looking away from me. It hit dead center along with the other arrows.

"Oh, I'm not that great." I said pouting.

"Really? Then how did you catch Aubrey's French?" she asked, loading her last arrow.

"I'm sure it was just chance, if it was something like Spanish you would have had it before me."

"Sure I would've" she snorted before shooting her final bulls eye.

* * *

I started on my way home from school. Me and Veronica had different academic classes this semester, she has Classic Literature while I have Geography, so it was a boring four hours wasted every day going over what I already knew. It was already 9:40 when I walked into the boy's dormitory, so I went up the stairway that led to my room. I had twenty minutes until my recommended bed time, so I sat on my bed thinking about what Aubrey could be planning. Whatever it is, he seemed very excited about it, which means it would be very painful. And it would be before his term as president is up, or it wouldn't be public enough for his liking. Which means it would be tomorrow or the day after... but he would be to busy getting his things together to leave office at the end of the games and the day after would be spent greeting the tributes...

I finally gave up and tucked my self in my bed, waiting for the clock to change to 10:00 before closing my eyes and retreating to the depths of my mind.

* * *

I opened my eyes to the beeping of my alarm clock. I jumped from my bed and quickly hit the off button, terrified. _It was just a dream_, I thought, _you know he could never get away with that!_

This time I took my time in the shower, bile still threatening to shoot up my throat. I eventually got out of the shower and hit the button for the clothes. Today the rack held outfits of every color imaginable. I pulled out a dark purple suit and made my way to the town square.

The large area was packed with people from all over the sector, but the first person I saw was Veronica, dressed in a beautiful green dress. I stopped dead in my tracks.

_No, no, no! It's just a coincidence._ I thought frantically trying to escape the deja vu. She spotted me and a huge smile spread across her face.

"Hey!" she yelled, running to meet me.

"Hi" I simply replied.

"Happy Hunger Games, and may the odds _ever_ be in your favor!" she said sarcastically, breaking the lock my mind had previously been in. We began to walk to our roped off quadrant for fifteen-year-olds, making small talk but only for the sake of knowing we were together and not alone.

I couldn't stop starring at one man sitting at the edge of the platform set up in the middle of all the roped up areas. He had a dark hair and green eyes. He looked incredibly dangerous and was in his late 30's. His name was Alex Gaither and had been the dictator of Snickery twenty years ago and was the only mentor sector 16 had.

After waiting what seemed to be forever the mayor stepped up to the platform. We walked past the two giant screens, one with every boy's name in the sector, and the other with the girls names and the When the mayor reached the podium his speech started, the one given every year; about how at one time, when the nation Panem existed, a girl tried to overthrow the government because she wanted to take control her self and be a selfish leader, (even though everyone knew that was a lie.) And she had every nation outside of Panem and half of Panem it's self on her side. When they finally attacked the capital, they thought it was going to be a surprise. But they where expected and killed almost immediately.

The planned overthrow was to close for comfort so there was need for change. So Snickery was formed, every nation under one government and divided into fifty sectors. And the former Hunger Games were changed. If someone wanted to be like the girl, they had a chance to become leader by volunteering for the person chosen if they allow you to (but no one in sector 16 had stepped up in nearly two centuries.) The tribute then either has to kill ninety-nine other tributes or team up with some if their not too selfish to kill them in the end. Once the games end, they are to choose what type of government they want, rather it be Monarchy, Democracy, Dictatorship, Oligarchy. and so forth. But they can change it at any time if they feel they're loosing control. Once the speech was finished an extremely flashy man with turquoise hair and a pink suit that could only be Frankie Anfeald made his was to the podium.

"Happy Hunger Games!", he spoke in an overly excited voice with capital accent all over it, "And may the odds _ever_ be in your favor! Let's start with the girls, shall we?"

He then proceeded over to where the girl's names were listed and pushed a button that made the names highlight, flickering one by one, picking up speed with each name until it was a dizzying blur of light which made my stomach clench back into a nauseated state.

_Just please don't land like my nightmare_, I begged

And, of coarse, it landed perfectly on Veronica Hammonds name. My heart stopped. It just stopped. I couldn't feel anything. I almost didn't feel Veronica get up from beside me. She looked horrified and I was starting to feel the exact same way. She looked at me with tear filled eyes. With trembling hands, I put my two pointing fingers together then pointed at my self. Which meant; _The same is going to happen to me. _She simply nodded and made her way to the stage. My nightmare had became reality, Aubrey was punishing us in the worst way possible, and in front of every person in the world. Veronica made it to the stage and was greeted by Frankie.

"Everyone, this is your female tribute Veronica Hammonds. Does anyone want to volunteer?" No one even dared to breath.

Veronica was then led to an empty chair next to Alex. He looked at her and actually showed sympathy towards her, probably thinking about what she'll be going through. Frankie then pushed the button for the boys name. I knew it would land on me, so I began to prepare a little speech for all of Snickery to hear, that would be right up Aubrey's ally. When the name Callen Adams was highlighted every eye was on me. I actually found the power to smile through the whole walk to the platform even though I was thinking about my family back in sector 41.

The sectors were set up so that sector 50 was the farthest and least on the capitals concern list, up to 1 which was the capitals pets. Sector 41 was the fabric sector and the main export was clothing goods. But here in 16, entertainment is the export. Whether it be musician to actor, it all happened in 16. Luckily I had acting as an academic class or keeping up this facade would be much more difficult. I reached the platform and stood next to Frankie still smiling.

"This is your male tribute. Any volunteers?" The crowd was even quieter than when Veronica was up. "Very well then, we will no-" but I cut him off.

"I would like to make a speech." _But this speech will probably be the first directed to the current leader and not the public._ I thought humorously. Frankie's eyes lit up as if he'd just won the lottery.

"Yes! Please, please!" he screamed jumping up and down, clapping like a giddy school girl. It was quite common to have a speech on the day of the reaping in other sectors, but not 16.

"I would like to wish Aubrey farewell from office and that I feel the odds _were_ in fact in my favor, as well as Veronica's. And that we both know exactly how and why they were, and _I'm_ actually amused by it. If it's war you want, then it's, War. You'll. Get! I would also like to wish the other tributes the best of luck because they're gonna need it." I finished, still grinning ear to ear. My speech confused everyone except Veronica, who had a grin bigger than mine, and Alex who had a look of thoughtfulness and curiosity plastered onto his face. I then took my seat next to Veronica.

"Thank you Callen for the... umm... interesting speech. And there's you're tributes folks, and now they're off to the capital to prepare for the games!" After the anthem played we were rushed through town to a long stretch where a large expensive plane landed upon our arrival. Frankie told us to get on and like that, we were off to the capital.

Me and Veronica got into two recliners next to each other while Alex went to a room and Frankie went to see how diner was progressing. I looked at Veronica and we both burst out laughing.

"How did you know we would get chosen?" she asked after the laughter died down.

"Let's just say I'm so smart i figured it out in my sleep." I joked, and she just broke into laughter, but understood what I meant.

_Well president Aubrey,_ I thought proudly, _how does it feel to think your plan was cracked in such a short amount of time that I had a speech ready to go just for the occasion? _

As the fear of what was to come began to cloud my thoughts, a thick blanket of unconsciousness wrapped it self around around my mind.

_PLEASE REVIEW! (Thays makes me feels all fuzzy on de insides!)_


	5. Chapter 5

_I don't really have anything special to say about this chapter other than REVIEW!!! Because the more reviews I get, the quicker I'll get the next chapter up. And trust me, the next chapter is where the fun with other main characters come in =)_

"Callen, Veronica!", A too-happy voice chirped from a door behind me, "Diner is ready!" I opened my eyes and looked back only to see Frankie's silhouette quickly make it's way back into the kitchen on the other end of the hallway. I looked to my left to see Veronica yawning, who had obviously fell asleep too.

"Come on," I said to Veronica, offering my hand to help her up. She took it and smiled. We then began our way down the hallway, to the kitchen. the room we entered was a calming rose, unlike the outside which was full-out neon pink. There was an extravagant feast laid out before us on a huge table. The foods ranged from different lasanias to some type of roasted bird I didn't know the name of to assorted fruits of every type imaginable. At one side of the table was Frankie and Alex.

"Why don't you sit down?" Alex asked in a commanding yet soft tone. Me and Veronica complied. The chairs were made of pure oak, a very rare species nowadays. Frankie was looking at me a strange way.

"It's sad you're about to die," he said with a pout, "you're really cute!" I didn't know how to react other than stare.

"Thank you!" Veronica giddily cooed.

"Umm...," he staled, "uh... your welcome?" I simply shook my head of his implement. I took a bite of the burning hot bird that now sat on my plate.

"I can tell you both are experienced in combat" Alex stated out of the blue.

"Veronica may be, but I'm not" I simply replied. I knew Veronica had placed 7th in the national archery competition, she had a huge ceremony in the capital, her family even got to attend. I may have placed 108th in all of Snickery in free-style marshal arts which is outstanding, but real combat has a different feel to it that I had never experienced.

"By the look of you two, and by the quickness your mind had with that speech, you definitely have potential." he finished before taking a large bite out of a yellow fruit.

"So what are our training plans?" Veronica asked excitedly. She was the only person I could think of that would get excited over a training regimen.

"For you to make allies", he said much to Veronica's dismay.

"B-but how are we going to even stand a chance if our mentor, who's been through all of this already, won't even help us get in shape to fight?!?"

"Well, Miss. Hammonds, it seems to me you already have the capability to do that yourself. And no one knows your limits as well as you do. Just don't push your self to the point of exhaustion during the training period and pick up some new skills at booths. The rest is up to you." he finished while looking down at his plate, toying with a piece of lasagna. Veronica looked at him slightly agitated by what he said.

"Well, I have already got a training plan set up for us in my mind." she stated. And like that there was no more conversation, but I couldn't help to notice that Alex looked sad. After dinner me and Veronica returned to our recliners.

"So, what's you're plan?" I asked Veronica curious.

"Well," she began, "We're both good at archery, but since only one of us can have a bow, I think it would be best if I had it. Let's face it, I have better aim." she joked.

"But what will I use?" I pouted.

"You don't need any Capital-given tool you have natural wits for survival. But I'm sure the'll give you _something_." she stated matter-of-factly. Ever since someone a few games back someone took every single weapon and burned them to ashes, except for a rifle he kept for himself, and then made things boring by killing everyone in the first day. The judges now screen each person to decide what weapon you use best. And once your dead, if someone tries to take it... they'll be blown apart by explosives implanted in each one.

After that we made our way into our bedrooms to prepare for the next day.******************************************************************************

"Callen?" Veronica asked from the door of my room. My eyes fluttered open from a strangely peaceful sleep.

"Yeah?" I asked sitting up.

"We're getting ready to land and have a hour and a half before meeting with president Aubrey. Frankie told me to get you up then for you to get Alex up while I shower" she said sleepily, obviously deprived of the restful night I received, before continuing down the hallway to the bathrooms.

I pushed the large comforter off of my self and made my way to Alex's room. I knocked on the wide metal door but there was no answer so I let my self in. I found Alex dead asleep with a picture in his hand.

_I wonder who it is? _I thought. I quietly crept up to the bed but before I got close enough to look at the picture I made sure Alex was still unconscious before peeking. I saw his face had dried tear streaks all around his cheeks. His eyebrows twitched the slightest bit and decided the risk was still worth it. I slowly stepped over and made out a boy around my age, maybe a year older, that looked exactly like Alex; he had the dark hair and green eyes.

_Is this his son?_ I thought. But before I could come to a conclusion I found Alex up on his feet, his arm making it's way around my neck attempting to put me in a choke hold. I let him put his arm fully around my neck before taking my left arm behind him and pulling back his head. I then proceeded to kick his feet out from under him. I didn't want to hurt him and I was still in his strong grasp, so I resolved to just fall with him and not continue to hurt him. We hit the floor with a thud.

"What do you want?" he grunted with me still on him.

"I was told to wake you up but you wouldn't answer the door" I replied.

"Oh... well, it looks like I was right about you having a chance of surviving" he laughed. I just smiled and helped him up, still wondering who the boy had been.

I quickly showered and put on the black suit I had been instructed to wear, it looked similar to Veronica's dress; plain, black, and simple. We then rode an extravagant bus to the Capital building. On the rode me and Veronica made our way to the back of the bus.

"Veronica, this morning when I woke Alex up I saw something... strange"

"What did you see?" She asked curious.

"I saw a picture. He was holding it when I woke him up. It was of a boy our age and it looked exactly like him, and I think it was his son." I finished.

"Wow... you had an eventful morning." she laughed. I recalled the fight, but chose not to tell her.

I settled for, "That's not even the half of it.

Once we got there, I couldn't believe how huge the building was. I saw all the tributes in the same attire as us making their way up to huge pedestals with two chairs, one for each sector, where all one-hundred of us will be introduced by none other than president Aubrey.

We got out of or bus and made our way to the pedestals in front of the building. We went to the one that said Sector 16 on a banner hanging over the edge in large print, where we were to sit. When we finally reached the top of the pedestal we sat in the chairs and began to wait for the ceremony.

A huge crowd was growing rapidly at gates in front of us to watch the opening ceremony. I began to look at the contestants around us. There where some fairly big guys, mostly from the first ten sectors, but I didn't think they would get very far in the games; the smarter ones would take them out first. Then I saw him. It was the boy in Alex's photo, and it all began to make sense.

Alex's son would be our opponent and he probably felt guilty about mentoring his sons possible murderers, and I didn't blame him. I then looked over to Veronica who had looked in the direction I was looking. She then quickly fingered out, I_s that him him? _in our secret language Before I could throw a thumbs up, Aubrey was magically on the highest pillar of all.

"Hello to all, this is officially the 149th Hunger Games!" he shouted proudly. The crowd erupted into shouts of excitement and joy,

"I will now carry out my last duty as leader by introducing you... the tributes of this years games!" We all stood up at this moment and bowed. The crowed one again burst into shouts that only made me realize the fear I had kept bottled up the ever since the reaping. My heart began to pump faster than my head could keep up with, blood rushing im my ears.

_No!_ I mentally screamed, _you will NOT cave in here!_ I thought while regaining my posture. Aubrey then decided to give his closing sentiment.

"I have a feeling this years games will be _very _interesting!" the crowed reached the highest emotional tensity I had ever felt. We then began to walk into the building, sector by sector, until we were all downstairs in the training center. All the tributes didn't speak a word, and then finally, Aubrey came in.

"Hello, and welcome to your home for next week. We would like for you to go to you're rooms and get dressed for training. And before I leave," he then looked dead at me and Veronica, "the odds _have indeed_ been in your favor." he finished with the evilest grin I had ever seen anyone wear upon their face, then proceeded to walk away.

_REIVEW!!! REVIEW!!! REVIEW!!! REIVEW!!! REVIEW!!__! R__EVIEW!!! REIVEW!!! (Please? OwO )_


	6. Chapter 6

_Sooo... I think I'm addicted to this fanfic =P I can't stop writing, lol. This is by far the best chapter I have written so far, tons of action (and new characters =D ) **I'm going to gone for a while! All the details are on my profile!!!**  
_

As I walked into my room, I was in awe! It was a huge room done in a jungle green, had dark hardwood floors and was laden with white expensive furniture. The bed was beautiful, a king-size mattress with white covers, pillows, and drapes flowing down from the top.I wondered how I would be able sleep in this room without feeling guilty about possibly getting it dirty. I walked over to the dresser which had a lamp sitting on it made of pure glass. I pulled out a black jump suit and a red undershirt. As I left the room Veronica was waiting, wearing an outfit identical to mine.

"Great minds think alike, right?" she joked. I laughed and we began to make our way down the huge hall to the elevator.

"What booths do you think we should check out first?" I asked, unsure what booths were even available.

"Well, we should probably hold back Archery for a few days so that no one sees us as a threat, just tinker with the bows and play around. What we need the most will be first-aid because we've never had to do so much as fix up a scraped knee." I agreed. Ever since politician somewhere in the Capital had brought up the fact that people could use suicide as an escape from the Capital's control we've had free health care.

We finally reached the elevator and began our way down to the training center. As we plummeted down I noticed how high up we were, and wondered how the sector 50 tributes didn't puke from their views. We had almost reached the bottom floor.

"How should we act?" Veronica asked slightly nervous.

"Not cocky, but not afraid either. Show that we would be good allies." And with that the doors opened to the large room that was the training center. It was packed full of booths and people. We began to walk around, taking in our surroundings. I bumped into a fairly large girl with blond hair. I looked at her to find her brown eyes glaring at me.

"Watch where you freak'n going!" she spat before a voice identical to her own started laughing beside her. I looked at the unknown voice to see an exact copy of my aggressor. _Twins_ I thought slyly.

"Yeah, watch where your going!" she mirrored before they both laughed and walked away.

"How are twins here?" Veronica asked confused.

"Well, they are probably from different sectors and when one found out the other was reaped, they volunteered." I stated.

"Hmm... I guess that ma-" she caught off pointing in the direction to my right. I looked and saw something that made me freeze. All I saw were hands, one male the other female, making out _our_ words but with slightly different symbols. My mind instinctively translated the fluid movements that it could.

_Okay, ...need to ... allies, _the movements I recognized spoke in my head.

_Right, ... archery ... best option, _then they made their way over to the archery lanes.

"I think we need to follow them, they would probably be good allies." I said but Veronica wasn't paying attention.

"Callen! I know her! I _know_ her! At the archery tournament, we shared targets. She's like us, she _believes_ like we do!" she excitedly babbled.

_So they are on the same mission as us, eh?_

"Her name's Reken. She got 8th place, one place behind me. And she's gonna want that bow just as much as me" she smiled at the thought of competition before approaching the couple. On our way over Reken spotted us.

"VERONICA!!!" she squealed in disbelief before jumping into her arms.

"Hey!" Veronica said happily hugging her.

"What are you doing here?" she asked in disbelief.

"Let's just say that we got on Aubrey's bad side" she said looking back at me with a wink.

"Callen?!?" the voice of the guy Reken was with stammered. I looked up in shock.

"Mike!" I returned excited, taking his hand and pulling him into a hug too.

"What's up?" he asked jokingly, just as I remembered him. We had met at the district science competition. I ranked 2nd, but he got 1st by a landslide. And like Reken, Mike wanted the same things in government to happen as me and Veronica.

"Nothing but all of this," I said looking around, then it was my turn to ask "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Well, when she," he said looking back Reken who was still talking to Veronica, "got reaped, I had to step up and volunteer. I honestly would NOT be able to go on without her."

"Oh," I simply replied.

"We've decided there is a contest to be had." Veronica stated, sounding official.

"Since all of us are experienced in archery, we're going to see who will go for the bow during screenings." Reken said in a small voice, unlike the loud excited one she had earlier.

"Okay," me and Mike simotaniously answered. I grabbed a blue bow off the rack that felt comfortable. Me and Mike shared a target while Veronica and Reken shared the one beside us.

"Ready?" Veronica asked, mentally preparing herself before a competition.

"Yes," Reken simply replied

"Yup!" Mike excitedly replied.

"Uh-hu" I said with a smile while nodding my head.

"Okay," Veronica started, "last person who doesn't miss the bulls-eye gets to go for the bow. Runner up goes for the pistol." We all nodded in agreement.

"Good. Let's start the practice round." I picked an arrow out of the quiver on my back and loaded my bow. I lifted it at the target, pre-aiming. I pulled the string back and relaxed the muscles in my back and put the tip of the arrow slightly down and right of the bulls-eye, then I released. I hit the red ring, two rings left and down of the bulls-eye.

_Next time I need to aim higher and more to the right._ I thought, already planning where to put the arrow next time. Veronica and Reken had both shot perfect bulls-eyes. I looked back after Mike shot and he shot in the ring beside of mine. He had a frown on his face and was doing some type of equation on his hand in pen.

"Okay, now the real thing starts" Veronica said with a smile.

We all reloaded our bows and shot again. Everyone got bulls-eyes. Again, bulls-eyes. Then again, bulls-eyes. At this point people began gathering around.

_Uh-oh, _I thought between shots, _so much for a low profile. _Bulls-eyes. Everyone was staring at us. Then Mike shot the ring outside of the bulls-eye and a scowl came across his face then he went to sit down. Bulls-eyes. Bulls-eyes. Bulls-eyes. The crowd was so huge I couldn't help but to think that every tribute was gathered around watching us and that's what made me miss. I hit the same spot Mike did, so I went and joined him on a bench.

Bulls-eyes. Bulls-eyes. Bulls-eyes. Bulls-eyes. All I could think of was how if either of them missed the world may just stop revolving because it would be against nature it's self.

"This is getting us no where." Reken simply stated.

"Yeah, you're right. How about this?" Veronica started, "We go to clean targets, and whoever shoots more perfectly in the middle wins."

"Okay, but we need a non-biased judge." Reken said.

"I will" a voice steeping out from the crowd said. He had brown hair, grayish blue eyes and looked like he was made of all muscle but he was a little shorter than me. So Reken and Veronica went to different targets and loaded their bows. As they aimed the tension began to build to such intensity I had to look away. I heard the familiar plop of the arrow into the target.

"She's the winner" the voice said. I turned my head to see him pointing at Veronica. Reken had a smile on her face and leaned over to hug Veronica.

"Great job!" she said happily.

"Thanks," Veronica said happy with her win. The crowd then left without a word, probably thinking about what they'll be facing in the arena. The guy that had judged looked at us, smiled, then left with a girl with flaming red hair.

"Let's go to the shooting range so Reken can practice with the pistol." Mike said. So we headed over and it was instantly evident Reken didn't need any practice.

"Pull" Reken said flatly with the pistol in her hand. Mike pulled the lever that shot out five clay birds. Reken shot the pistol with expertise, quickly taking out the clay disks that didn't stand a chance.

* * *

The week went by quickly, all leading to the event I was dreading, screenings. I discovered that I had a knack for First-Aid , especially when it came to herbs. Then I found out I wielded a dagger very well even though it was kind of useless in hand-to-hand combat compared to a sword. It turned out Mike was extremely gifted when handling chemicals and inventing things with very little materials. And then it was the day of screening. Every sector had a different time for screening. Ours was fairly early in the morning while Reken and Mike's was in the afternoon. Veronica and I both walked into the training center which was strangely empty of people except for the panel of judges.

"What are you weapons of choice to be considered and what are you second choice of weapons." One stated more than questioned us.

"I would like to go for the bow, and have a javelin for my second." Veronica solidly replied. The judges wrote something down then looked at me.

"Umm... uh, I guess a dagger, then I don't really have preference for a second weapon." I stammered. They simply looked at me like I was the biggest idiot to fall onto the planet.

"Okay, you may now start." they said bored. Me and Veronica looked at each other and nodded. We had discussed what we were going to do and Mike and Reken decided to do something similar. Usually the tributes went their separate ways and tried to show off, but we had different plans. She proceeded over to the archery range and took a quiver and bow, where she began to dull the arrows so they wouldn't kill me if they hit but would still hurt if it did. I headed over to the herb section and grabbed some fake display hemlock out of a glass shelf that read poisonous section and stuffed it into my pocket then headed over to the first-aid section and grabbed a dark brown backpack with some random supplies but it would serve my plan. Then I finally headed over to the hand-to-hand combat section and found a wooden practice dagger that would work perfectly, so I put it in the pocket beside opposite of the hemlock. Most of the judges were intrigued by now. I then walked to the end of the long room opposite of the side Veronica was on.

"Are you ready?" I shouted. She already had her first arrow loaded.

"You know I am" she shouted back.

"All right, here I come!" I finished, darting quickly left heading behind a booth, aware of the arrow sailing in my direction. I then took the pack off my back. I continued my run left, and just as I predicted, an arrow was flying strait at me. I the bag in front of me and let the arrow go right into it.

_Wow, that arrow still looks pretty sharp..._ ,the arrow's tip was barely poking out,_ the pack will only be able to take two more arrows_ I thought while running, so I changed my path from left to straight. Another arrow flew into the pack. Then finally the last arrow hit and I slung it in Veronica's direction. She had to duck in order to avoid being hit in the face, but that didn't stop her from loading another arrow while doing so. She sent the other arrow at me and I did a roll to the right this time and dove for another booth. I pulled out the dagger and examined it.

_This will take perfect timing. _I thought examining the wooden tool. I was maybe ten feet from Veronica. I sighed and started around the booth. Then I took off toward Veronica again. An arrow was coming right at me.

_Okay, and... NOW!_ I took the dagger and swatted the arrow inches away from my face off to the left. This shocked Veronica, so she threw down her bow, grabbed an arrow and began to run at me. We were face to face now. She pulled the arrow back to stab me so I took this precious time to pull out the hemlock and hold in my free hand before blocking the arrow with the flat of my dagger. Then I spun with the dagger outwards, but she ducked then hit the daggers handle from under sending it through the air away from me. Then I spun, again, but this time I spun around her and used the trick Alex taught me by wrapping my right arm around her neck and putting the fake hemlock, making sure the roots went in first, into her mouth. But she whipped her arrow around to my own neck putting us in a stalemate, both of would be dead if this were a real situation.

I let go of Veronica and we smiled at each other before looking to the judges who we're trying to hide their awe, but weren't doing too well.

"Thank you. We'll consider your request. You may leave now" One who was actually succeeding in concealing his emotions spoke. Me and Veronica left together and found Reken and Mike waiting outside the door.

"How did you do?" they asked in unison.

"We did great!" Veronica replied.

"I bet you surprised them"" Mike laughed.

"You can bet we did" I returned. We all just broke out into laughter.

* * *

Mike and Reken did just as well, if not better in their showdown, the only difference was that Reken beat Mike by holding the gun to his head. And like that, it was the next day and time for the games to begin. We didn't get to be interviewed anymore do to the massive amount of people, so the viewers picked favorites on the way. We were all under the arena, wondering what the environment above us held.

"Okay. While we're waiting the minute, I'll figure out what direction we should head and sign it to the whichever of you are closest, then that person will mirror it to the next person and so forth." I spoke in a hushed voice so no one could hear us.

"Agreed" they all said. Then a voice overhead said all tributes needed to go to their designated plate and retrieve their weapons. We all looked at each other one last time before heading to the plates with our names. The plates were all blocked off by walls preventing us from seeing anyone else's location.

I found mine quickly and stepped into the small room. There, on the pedestal, was a mesmerizing dagger that had a dragon handle with purple eyes. I took it out of it sheath and the blade looked sharp enough to cut metal as if it where butter. But there was something else, a large, purple, back pack. The glass cylinder began to come down around me so I quickly opened it to see it's contents before the dark ride up began. The only thing I had a chance to see before going up was a canteen.

ow in darkness, I re-closed the bag, picked up the dagger and sheathed it, then hooked it onto my cargo shorts. I was throwing the pack over my shoulder when the light hit my eyes. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust, but when they did, I was in shock. It was a heavily wooded area, with mountains and hills everywhere, but there where houses. Old houses.

_This must be a neighborhood (eastern and probably near where district 12 used to be) from even before PANEM existed! _All the tributes were placed in a circle around the cornucopia full of ammo, food, clothes, and other items. We were in a field-like area behind a huge, three story, still good looking house. I turned to look in front of the house where the remains of a paved road, cracked and full of potholes, was. There was another house by the road that was much smaller. Then behind it and to the right I could barely make out a farm due to the hill that was next to us. Then there was another field/valley directly behind the small house with another house, larger than the one we were already by. Then I looked beside of the house. There where railroad tracks next to a strange building that had a wooden cross on top of it. Then following my counterclockwise spin I saw a dirt path behind the cornucopia, leading up a hill into woods. Then I finally looked up and to my right to find a house up on the fairly small hill that (blocked my view of the barn) but would still take at least thirty seconds to climb, even though there was an even, paved driveway from the road. And that's when I realized we were cornered into this field, we either had to go into the woods, over the tracks, or onto the open road, but I had a different idea.

I looked to my right and saw Veronica was right beside me. I then signed; _We need to go to the road, and up the driveway behind us then go through the woods beside of it._ When I finished I noticed she had a face of despair. I quickly looked around to see what caused her face and saw Reken right beside her with the same look. Then I knew what it was and felt my face go into the exact same expression. Mike was on the other side of the cornucopia with no way to know what way we were going. And then the games were on. Everyone scrambling in different directions, blood already squirting into the open air. I ran towards them.

"Go the way I told you to, find a house and stay in it. I'm going to find Mike." They nodded and went to the road while I ran into the crowd of people that would probably end me in less than a minute.

_OMG!!! Cliffy! ;) So, check out my poll on who's point of view should be next, Veronica's or Callen's. They both are going to be great, but I'll let you decide which one you think will be better :) **I DESPERATELY NEED POLL VOTES!!! lol**  
_


	7. Chapter 7

_I'M BACK!!! And sooo excited to be writing again :) Turns out that my school system has Chionophobia, so we didn't have any school all week! This chapter is in Veronica's POV and it's awesome!!! Enjoy and review :)_

I nodded at Callen before grabbing Reken's hand, and running to the broken road. _Callen will make it to Mike, he has to_. He has too much determination to be took down this early... or at least I hoped. As we ran cannons were blowing like crazy.

Once we reached the road and made our way right then up the driveway that was still in great condition. It's path was perpendicular to the one we just took. I looked to my left to see another, but steeper, hill a few feet beside us. I saw a not-so steep part that led up into some hills and decided it would be the way we would go. We had a few more seconds before we reached our escape route so I looked to my right off of the hill into the the field and regretted it.

So much blood had been spilled that it was beginning to flow down the drainage system beside of the railroad tracks. There were body parts scattered across the field. There was even a young boy's head lying on the ground and the twins were charging straight at it. They had a barbed wire line, running while catching people in the death trap. Then they ran over the head, which exploded into an unrecognizable mush. But there was still no sign of Callen or Mike. I felt so scared that I nearly stopped running, but then I felt something burning deep within me.

_No,_ the stern voice not my own, that usually came to me before a competition spoke, there's_ no room in the arena for weakness._ _Get over yourself and do what Callen told you to do._

"Come on" I said to Reken before pulling her up the hill beside us. All I saw were trees, leaves, and more hills in front of us. We both got behind a rather large tree and looked back to see how the battle in the field area was going. The cannon shots were coming at a less steady rhythm and the number of survivors had decreased by at least half. Then we saw him.

Mike had some kind of beaker and held it in a defensive pose while making his way to the trail at the end of the field. Opposite of the path me and Reken were going. A man with two butterfly swords was running at him from behind. I looked over at Reken and she had her gun pointed at the man.

"Wait!" I shouted pointing. Mike quickly threw the chemicals over his shoulder then ran up the trail out of our sight without missing a beat. The blue, milky liquid contacted with the mans forehead then burst into bright yellow flames. He screamed and began running in the other direction before falling down.

Reken looked relieved, but I wasn't. There was _**still **_no sign of Callen. Then I heard a rustle to my right.

"Veronica! Look out!" Reken cried.

I looked just in time to see a woman with a rapier, drawn back to strike. There wasn't much to do other than move my body so the wound I received wouldn't be fatal. I turned my body so that the saber pierced my arm instead of my heart.

I grabbed an arrow from my back and tried to stab her while she withdrew her weapon from my arm but she jumped back just in time to dodge my lunge. Then I felt the pain shoot up my arm and blood flow down my arm, dripping at my hand. I looked at Reken for support but she was frozen with a face of shock.

"S-sissy?" Reken stammered.

_This crazy woman that just attacked is was her sister?!?_ I then looked back at Reken's sister who had a menacing smile.

"Oh yes, dear sister," she snapped bitterly, "How could you notice this... this... _thing_ but not notice your own sister who volunteered just for you so we could rule this nation together? How could you?!?" She then began walking to where Reken stood.

"L-lisa," she struggled out through the tears. Then Lisa stopped and a smirk found it's way onto her face.

"You know what?" she questioned with a smile. I took this precious time to load an arrow into my bow but it wasn't without struggle. I knew it would be the only one I could shoot in my current state, so I would have to make use of it.

"I can just kill _it_" she said jerking her head in my direction, glaring at me, "and then we could still rule together. It's not too late!" she finished before laughing insanely.

"No sissy!" Reken cried as Lisa began stalking back my way. I tried to pull the string of my bow back, but I couldn't. My arm just didn't have the strength. I began to panic as she got closer with every stride. She was right on me now.

_Is this really how it's going to end? _I thought blankly.

"NOOO!!!!" Reken yelled as she brought her pistol up to Lisa, closed her eyes, and pulled the trigger. Lisa hissed in furry as the bullet pierced her leg before she fell. This gave me hope and strength, enough to pull back the string.

As I aimed as she screeched at Reken, "You! How could you get corrupted by her ways so easily? How could you do this to _me_?!?!"

"Because you are a sick person set on dictatorship. YOU are the one who is corrupt!" Reken screamed back.

"No! I am nothing bu-" was all she got out before my arrow went perfectly through her jugular. Reken was on the ground sobbing when the canon shot.

"Come on" I said solemnly taking the arrow from Lisa's neck, then grabbing her shoulder with my good arm, leading us deeper into the forest. After about two minutes of closely following the road but far enough that we could hide from any passerby that came, Reken's sobs subsided to silent tears and little trembles here and there, but I was still worried.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked in a concerned voice. She simply sniffed and nodded her head. I gave her a nurturing rub on the back before continuing our tread. We stepped through the trees into the yard of a white house on top of a huge hill. I looked off the hill and over the road; I saw one barn that was black and had a green metal roof. Then to the right of it I saw a creek then another barn that was mostly the natural color of wood, but was trimmed in red. Then I heard laughing from not very far down the road.

"Get down!" I told Reken swiftly. We were on our stomachs instantly and straining to make out what they were saying. Then a teenager with shortcut black hair and a katana stepped into our view.

"This is going to be easy" he chuckled in a deep voice.

"I know, right?" another boy the same age as the other laughed in a higher pitch. He had a rifle strapped with the barrel poking through his medium-length blond hair.

_A party of two? They would be easier to take out now. _I looked at Reken for approval but she shook her head and pointed back to where the boys where standing.

"I wouldn't get so cocky..." another voice said from behind them. He had shortish wavy blond hair and held a huge claymore sword over his shoulder.

"He's right," yet another voice said. It was a short boy with short blond hair and what I could only assume to be packages of explosives on a belt and strapped from shoulder to shoulder, which made me think, _It would be pretty easy for him to throw some of that up here then detonate it..._ "you never know what will pop up in the arena." He said looking straight up at where we were spying before, but luckily we had moved back to the cover of the trees after discovering we were outnumbered. The two leading boys pouted the continued there path forward.

I looked back to Reken and whispered, "I bet the two in the back put the other two in front for cover..."

"And that means we have a betrayal waiting to happen." Reken stated matter-of-factly. Once the boys were out of sight we continued through the yard and into more woods, then another, larger clearing behind a red brick house, with the wooden barn directly across the road. I now saw that the barn had a black wooden fence following the road. I saw one of the short boy's explosives lying at the fence

_It must have a motion sensor... good thing we're taking the hills. _I thought. We dashed through the open yard, each stride sending a wave of pain down my arm, hoping we wouldn't be spotted by the boys which were _still_ being louder than a herd of elephants. When we reached the edge I paused. I realized that the woods were becoming much more hillier, which meant that we probably wouldn't be able to keep sight of the road.

"If we hurry we can keep up with the sound of the boys' voices." Reken whispered. So I quickly climbed up the hill with my good arm, Reken right behind me. We ran on spots with less leaves to prevent making noise, but it didn't help very much. We went on following them for about ten minutes before we lost track of them.

"Now what?" Reken asked.

"We need to find a hose." I replied. I walked to the edge of the hill we were on and saw three houses next to the road.

"That one," I said pointing to the one on the far right; it was a ranch style house and had the remains of a chain link fence around it's front yard, and was in front of an empty, uneven lot. There was a hill behind it and to the left was another brick house on top of it. To the left of the lot was a white house with a massive pine tree in the bottom edge closest to the house I pointed to.

"How are they going to know we're in that one?" Reken asked as we silently slid down the hill.

"Oh, I've got an idea." I simply replied before jumping across the creek and running across the road to our abandoned fortress.

_Review, subscribe, blah, blah, blah. lol_


	8. Chapter 8

**_So__rry for the long wait guys, I kinda had this written a week ago then I forgot to save it :( Then it basically sucked the inspiration out of me, lol. But on the plus side, when I finally did get the inspiration, it made me write about 272% better, lol. I hope you all enjoy!_**

I ran as fast as my legs could carry me. All of the thoughts that had previously been bouncing around in my head had feel into an abyss of unimportance. The only things remaining were first; run, second; stay aware of my surroundings, and third; find Mike.

I was making my way around the side of the cornucopia closest to the hill since if I were to get in a battle the field would be more closed in, which would be to my advantage. I was just about to fly past the cornucopia when a fairly tall boy came running at me with a staff in a striking position. My mind went into kill mode.

I stopped moving and waited for him to strike. The number one thing I knew about in any close-range fighting style was never strike first. Your moves are usually easy to read and in this case, his weapon was slightly less nimble than my own. He had reached me and begun to reposition the rod. I could tell he was going for my feet by his eyes focus so I quickly bent my knees a little to jump, but then he pulled up and the pole hit me on my right cheek, hard.

I flew back on the ground, tasting blood from where the inside of my mouth had been scraped by my teeth. He was about to shove his staff into my stomach. I swiftly rolled to my left, narrowly avoiding a punctured appendix. This opponent was not to be underestimated, he had to have been training in this style from a young age. I needed to end this in one movement or else I would be history.

I hopped up, putting my dagger in a defensive pose. As he ran at me I couldn't help but to think he looked like a thoroughbred horse, every muscle in his legs and arms rippling with each stride. I would have to read them if I wanted to come out on top. He wielded the staff in a diagonal position with the top over his left shoulder. My mind quickly began calculating what body movements would effect the poles direction. I decided his right arm would be my center focus.

If the tricep of his right arm were to flex then he would be going for a low strike or sweep. It would be a vertical strike if his elbow extended toward me and a horizontal sweep if it swung around. I was running out of time. I had to think _faster!_ My mind jumped through the rest in less than a millisecond. If the bicep were to flex it would mean a high strike, but the elbow would pull back for vertical and swing for horizontal. My eyes were fixed waiting for the change. Then I saw a twitch.

The tempo of time had slowed down to a slow waltz in contrast to it's previous tango. His bicep was beginning to grow and his elbow slightly transitioning to the right. He was going for a repeat of last times attack. But I knew better this time. Everything still going at a calm pace, I did a roll as I unconsciously sensed the stick cut through the air where I stood before. I remained crouched beside of his left leg. His head slowly turned to me, his face in horror. I took the dagger and put to his calf. I applied very little pressure and it sliced the muscle, all the way to the bone, as if it were butter. He fell to the ground with a dull thud.

I began to climb on top of him and finish the job when I sensed something wrong. It seemed the slow steady strum of nature was trying to pick up speed again. I began to turn my head and saw a huge, boulder-like ball hurtling at me. I dove to me left into the hill as I felt the wind of the ball brush my shoulder.

I looked back to see Alex's son retracting the ball that was connected to a chain that was around his arm. He was simply staring at me. Time began to pass and I became impatient. _Why hasn't he attempted _to attack yet? I thought agitated. Then I saw something in his eyes. It was a look of approval. _He's seriously going to let me go? _He ran over to the boy I had just took down.

He picked him up and used his body as a crutch, supporting both of their weight. _They'll never make it out of this field. _I thought absently preparing to turn away but I saw someone running at them with a javelin from where I had just left. I don't know why, but I felt compelled to help. I sheathed my dagger and began to dash towards the man at top speed. Alex's son stared in horror as their assassin drew back his arm to throw. But he didn't do it fast enough.

I flew into him with my right shoulder, sending us both tumbling on the ground. It felt as if the earth itself were spinning out of control. When the rolling had finally halted we were in a position where the man was face down on the ground and I was on top of him. I knew what I had to do. I took my dagger out and lifted the mans head. This time the flow of reality had stopped altogether.

My mind was completely empty at this point. It felt as if my actions were being performed by a hidden puppet master. I put my knife to the neck. I felt no emotion inside. I felt no facial expressions appearing on my face. Nothing. I barely noticed the knife had already went through the neck. Then I noticed my knife was still inside the neck, going back and forth. _What am I doing? I need to get up, this guy is already dead. _I thought still in my absent trance. But my hand continued sawing at the neck. Back, forth, back, forth. _You REALLY need to stop! _My inner voice spoke with authority.

Then life rushed back; first sight, I saw beyond the corpse. I saw Alex's son and the staff boy starring at me with the same expression I felt on my blank face. The second thing that came was sound, I heard screams of terror, canons blaring, and the clash of weapons. Third was touch, I felt the blood in my hands making everything slick and smooth. Then I smelt it, the wretched stench of copper everywhere. Finally the realization of what I had done sunk in. I killed some one. No, I had lost control and _mutilated_ him. I slowly laid the head down, trying not to do anything else to this poor man. I began to walk over to the boys.

"I'll take him," I said pointing at the tall boy, "and you clear a path up the trail. Don't be afraid to go fast, I'll be able to keep up." He nodded and handed me the boy. He began to swing the ball in a vertical circle and took off to the trail.

I quickly threw the boy over my shoulder and ran after him. Good thing this dude was thin and I wasn't built small or we would never have kept up. I looked up the hill to see if I could spot Veronica or Reken during the calm before our storm, but the hill it's self was blocking my view where I was so close to it. _They'll be okay, they have to._ I thought with new found determination to find Mike. We were approaching the corpse and then I realized it a moment to late. The ball of our fearless leader came down and struck the head. It flew off to the other side of the field. Then I saw him.

Mike had almost made it to the trail, the same place we were going. I felt a wave of pure relief flood over me, followed by determination. _I have to make it to him. I HAVE to!_

**_Okay, as you should know by now, this fic is based on a dream that happened in a real place. I'm thinking about taking pics of the arena and putting them on photobucket or make a video on youtube to get a better understanding of the area. If you think I should, leave it in your review because apparently polls don't like my profile page, lol. Please review!_**


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